boehner spoke by phone about the looming fiscal cliff. the hope is that this is a sign the two sides are trying to kick start negotiations. fox 5's bob barnard has more. >> i hope he with can come together. it is important to avoid the fiscal cliff and to do it the right way. >> reporter: doing it the right with a depends on who you are speaking to. i asked chris van hollen what happens if the white house and republicans in congress cannot reach a deal by january 1st. >> it doesn't necessarily mean january 2nd the world falls apart. but what it does mean is, if you go into january, deeply into january without having resolved these issues, taxes will go up across the board on everybody. that is a big tax increase. >> reporter: and deep across the board spending cuts in defense and other areas of the federal government. >> the plans that the white house has talked about thus far, they couldn't pass either house of the congress. >> reporter: president obama says he will not sign a bill without a tax increase on incomes over $250,000. he met